Construction safety fence post

ABSTRACT

A fencepost for supporting a guardrail around the top of a building under construction, the post having a support arm and a downwardly directly spike which may be forced through the metal roof decking, and a disposable sleeve around the spike means which remains captive in the poured concrete of the building structure while permitting the spike and fencepost to be removed for use on a higher floor.

United States Patent Inventor Edward Earl Dickey R. R. #6, Brampton,Ontario, Canada Appl. No. 845,231 Filed July 28, 1969 Patented June 15,1971 Priority Nov. 25 1968 Canada 036,041

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY FENCE POST 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 256/59, 256/65 Int. Cl E04h 17/18 Field of Search 256/65, 59,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,706,662 4/1955 Brown182/113 3,084,759 4/1963 l82/106X 3,406,946 10/1968 256/65X 3,351,311 1H1967 248/226 3,480,257 11/1969 Bourn et al. 256/59 PrimaryExaminerDennis L. Taylor Attorney-George A. Rolston ABSTRACT: Afencepost for supporting a guardrail around the top of a building underconstruction, the post having a support arm and a downwardly directlyspike which may be forced through the metal roof decking, and adisposable sleeve around the spike means which remains captive in thepoured concrete of the building structure while permitting the spike andfencepost to be removed for use on a higher floor.

CONSTRUCTION SAFETY FENCE POST This invention relates to aself-supporting fencepost for use in the direction of a safety fence onthe top floor of a construction site.

Construction safety regulations which are applicable on the majority ofconstruction sites require the use of a safety fence around the topfloor of a building while it is under construction. In many cases, suchas in the construction of factory or warehouse space for example, thetop floor construction is made up of a system of steel troughsarrangedside-by-side over steel girders or joists which span the widthof the building between the walls at spaced intervals, and the top flooris completed by pouring a layer of concrete on top-of the steel troughswhich is smoothed off and coveredwith suitable flooring material. Duringthe time that the workmen are working on the completion of such a floor,building regulations require that a safety fence be erected around thetop floor of the building to reduce accidents. The erection and supportof such a fence presents certain problems. The outer walls of thebuilding are usually constructed of an outer layer of bricks and aninner construction made up of insulating blocks of cinders or the like.The joists are usually embedded in the concrete block inner wall, andthe steel troughs are overlayed over the joists. As a result, there islittle or nothing to which a fence, or posts to support a fence can befastened. Thus it is generally speaking extremely difficult to fastenany such fence to the steel troughs or the joists since these willnormally be covered,

.during the completion of the top floor by a layer of poured concretefollowed by other material. Similarly it is generally speakingundesirable to attach anything at all to the bricks themselves sincethese will form the outer wall of the building, and are in any eventsomewhat insecurely fastened until the mortar has completely dried.

The present invention provides a'composite fencepost for such a fencewhich may be erected in position, and attached to the steel trough priorto pouring of the concrete, the concrete setting and hardening around aportion of such fencepost thereby securing the same in position, andpermitting a safety fence to be erected thereon during completion of thetop floor, after which, a portion of the fencepost remains captive inthe concrete, and the remainder may be removed, and is available forreuse at another construction site.

More particularly, the invention seeks to provide a composite fenceposthaving the foregoing advantages in which a portion of the post,penetrating the poured concrete, is enclosed by a removable disposablesleeve which remains captive in the concrete after removal of the post.

More particularly, it is an objective of the invention to provide afencepost having the foregoing advantages which incorporates adjustmentmeans permitting the post to be adapted to a variety of differentbuilding dimensions.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide a fencepost having the foregoing advantages which is providedwith bearing surfaces located to contact the brick wall, and support thefencepost during pouring of the concrete, without the need foradditional supporting means.

The foregoing and other advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention whichis given here by way of example only with reference to the followingdrawings in which like reference devices refer to like parts thereofthroughout the various views and diagrams and in which;

FIG. 1 is a cut away lower perspective illustration showing thefencepost in position on a building under construction, prior to thepouring of the concrete on the top floor;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged upper perspective view, partially cut away, andshowing a portion of the set concrete, and,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the fencepostshown in FIG. 2, partially cut away to reveal its con struction.

As shown in FlGS. l and 2, the present invention which is indicatedgenerally as is shown in use in association with the unfinished topfloor of a building such as a factory or warehouse or the like in whichthe conventional construction methods comprise an outer brick wallindicated as W and an inner lining wall of blocks indicated as B, andhaving a floor constructed of girders G spanning the building one sideto the other and embeded in the upper course of the inner block wall B.Steel troughing indicated as T is lying crossways over the girders Gmaking a continuous covering. It will be noted that the inner liningwall B terminates short of the upper edge of the brick wall W, and thatthis arrangement ensures that there is a substantial portion consistingof three or four courses of bricks in the wall W rising above the levelof the trough T and forming as it were a parapet around the floor space,the purpose of which is to enclose the concrete which will be pouredover the trough T. The finishing layers which are normally applied overthe upper surface of the set concrete, indicated as C, are not shown,but it is believed that the details of such construction are unimportantto the invention, and are in any case well known and familiar.

The fencepost indicated generally as 10 will be seen to comprise anupright post member or column 11 formed of T-section iron, defining aflat surface 12 facing inwardly towards the outside of the wall-Wforengaging the same. Two spacedapart ,D-shaped brackets 13 are provided,having holes '14 therein, for supporting wooden bars or rails indicatedas R,

. holes 14 permitting the rails R to be secured by nails, wire, ties orthe like (not shown). Preferably, brackets 13 are of a sufficient widthto permit two such rails R to pass therethrough one above the other inan overlapping manner thereby permitting the erection ofa continuousfence.

In order to support column 11 in its erect position, a horizontal armmember 15 is attached thereto at right'angle between l8 inches and 2feet from the lower end thereof,

thereby permitting a substantial free portion of column 11 to benddownwardly from the junction with arm 15, and locating the rails R at anadvantageous height above the upper edge of the brick wall Wv Arm 15 ispreferably of T-shaped iron bar construction, with the center portion ofthe T, indicated as the blade 16, depending downwardly whereby toprovide maximum strength, while minimizing the interference with theupper surface of the concrete C, and permitting free access underneatharm 15 for applying other finishing layers on concrete C if desired. Arm15 is preferably of such a length as to extend inwardly over theinterior of the building and overlap the inner surface of the liner wallB, and may preferably be made adjustable by the means shown in FIG. 3,to adapt the same for different thicknesses of wall construction,although clearly if a sufficient demand exists for post 10 according tothe invention, they may be made in a variety of different sizes and thisfeature may be omitted for reasons of economy. At the inward end of arm15, a spike member 17 is welded in a vertically downwardly dependentposition having a pointed lower free end 18 to ensure easy penetrationof the steel of troughs T. A disposable plastic tubular sleeve 19 fitsclosely around the upper portion of the spike member 17 extendingbetween the lower edge of blade portion 16 of arm 15 and a point aboutmidway down the spike 17. The remainder of spike I7 is left uncovered.Sleeve member 19 is intended to correspond in length to the depth of theconcrete C, and forms a disposable captive'sleeve, which is enclosed andsurrounded by the concrete during pouring, and permits the removal ofspike 17 after the concrete has set and the roofing is finished.

As has been stated above, the provision of an adjustment means foradjusting the length of the arm 15 is not essential, but if desired, itcan be made up as shown, by making arm 15 in two parts, 15a and 15b andon one such part providing a T- shaped sleeve 20 welded thereto andhaving a series of holes 21 therein adapted to receive a locking pin 22,and the free end of bar portion 15b is provided with a series of lockingholes 23, the locking pin 22 being removable to permit adjustment bymeans of moving portion 15b inwardly or outwardly as desired.

In operation, the thickness of the concrete C is determined from thearchitect plans, and a sufficient number of the posts are prepared withsleeve 19 slipped on the spikes l7 and cut to the appropriate length toprovide a complete fence around the upper edge of the building. Afterthe steel troughs T are laid and fastened in position, the fence iserected by simply taking a post 10, and placing the flat surface 12 ofcolumn portion 11 in engagement with the outer side surface of the brickwall W, and lowering the post 10 until the point 18 of spike l7 rests onthe upper surface ofa trough T. The workman will then simply place hisboot on the upper flat surface of arm member 15, and press firmlydownwardly forcing point 18 to penetrate and pass through trough T. Thepost 10 is pressed downwardly until the blade portion 16 engages theupper most course of brick in the wall W, at which point the post 10 issufficiently secured to be left and the next one erected adjacent to ita suitable distance. After the erection of posts 10 is completed, therails R are then placed in position, and fastened to the posts 10, bypassing them through brackets 13 and nailing them in position throughholes 14. Once the rails R are erected and fastened in this way, it willbe found that the posts 10 are secured from sideways movement by meansof the rails R, and are secured from backwards and forwards movement bythe engagement of flat surface 12 with bricks W, coupled with theengagement of spikes 17 through trough T. The concrete C may then bepoured and allowed to set, and any other finishing operations requiredwill then be completed with the fence still in position. After all thework has been completed, the rails R are dismantled and the posts 10 maysimply be lifted upwardly, thereby drawing spike 17 through sleeve 10which remains in the concrete C.

All that is then required is to plug the plastic sleeves C in somesuitable way for example by pouring liquid concrete down them. i I

It will be understood that while reference herein is made to the topfloor" of a building, this phrase has reference to any floor above theground floor, typically in a bearing wall" type building as shown. Theremay in fact be 10 or more such floors each of which is to be regarded asthe top floor" during its construction and until that floor is completedand the bearing walls erected to surround it. Thus the posts accordingto the features as described, but comprehends all such variations ascome within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A construction safety fencepost for the erection of temporarydismountable safety fence around the top floor of a building under theconstruction above the top edge of the exterior walls thereof andcomprising:

a vertical column portion dimensioned to extend above and below said topedge ofsaid building exterior wall;

a wall-contacting face on a lower portion of said column oriented tocontact a face ofa said exterior wall;

rail attachment means on an upper portion of said column;

a column support arm attached to said column between said upper andlower portions and extending normal thereto and oriented in the samedirection as said wall-contacting face to overlie said exterior wall;

downwardly dependent spike means at the free end of said support arm,and,

disposable sleeve means on said spike means, to prevent bonding toconcrete thereto.

2. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidvertical column portion is formed of an iron bar of T-shaped crosssection, with the upper portion of the T- shape forming the wallcontacting face of said column.

3. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidcolumn support arm includes a downwardly directed edge portioncontacting the upper portion of said exterior wall of said building.

4. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 including atleast two spaced-apart rail bracket members attached to said otherportion of said vertical column one above the other to locate upper andlower rails for said safety fence, and wherein each said bracket meansis dimensioned and arranged to receive two such fence rails overlappingone above the other.

5. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein saiddisposable concrete separation means comprises a sleeve of plasticmaterial slidably fitted over said spike means, and adapted to beretained in concrete to be poured therearound, thereby releasing saidspike means for dismantling of said fence.

6. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 includingsupport arm adjustment means incorporated in said column support arm foradjusting the lengths thereof thereby varying the spacing betweensaidcolumn and said spike means.

1. A construction safety fencepost for the erection of temporarydismountable safety fence around the top floor of a building under theconstruction above the top edge of the exterior walls thereof andcomprising: a vertical column portion dimensioned to extend above andbelow said top edge of said building exterior wall; a wall-contactingface on a lower portion of said column oriented to contact a face of asaid exterior wall; rail attachment means on an upper portion of saidcolumn; a column support arm attached to said column between said upperand lower portions and extending normal thereto and oriented in the samedirection as said wall-contacting face to overlie said exterior wall;downwardly dependent spike means at the free end of said support arm,and, disposable sleeve means on said spike means, to prevent bonding toconcrete thereto.
 2. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim1 wherein said vertical column portion is formed of an iron bar ofT-shaped cross section, with the upper portion of the T-shape formingthe wall contacting face of said column.
 3. A construction safetyfencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein said column support arm includesa downwardly directed edge portion contacting the upper portion of saidexterior wall of said building.
 4. A construction safety fencepost asclaimed in claim 1 including at least two spaced-apart rail bracketmembers attached to said other portion of said vertical column one abovethe other to locate upper and lower rails for said safety fence, andwherein each said bracket means is dimensioned and arranged to receivetwo such fence rails overlapping one above the other.
 5. A constructionsafety fencepost as claimed in claim 1 wherein said disposable concreteseparation means comprises a sleeve of plastic material slidably fittedover said spike means, and adapted to be retained in concrete to bepoured therearound, thereby releasing said spike means for dismantlingof said fence.
 6. A construction safety fencepost as claimed in claim 1including support arm adjustment means incorporated in said columnsupport arm for adjusting the lengths thereof thereby varying thespacing between said column and said spike means.